The Childhood of an Elven Prince
by Warrior of Galen Eryn
Summary: Just what I think is the childhood of Legolas. Read on about Legolas and his crazy pranks, as well as all his idiosyncracies while growing up.
1. The Birth of Legolas

Disclaimer: I do not own the lord of the rings. All honour and majesty goes to the author of the lord of the rings, the almighty John Ronald Ruel Tolkien.  
  
Author's note: this story is written from an elf's point of view, so please tell me if you do not understand my story. Also, I am trying to be as true to the book as possible, so if you think that some things are written wrongly, like if you think Thranduil should do this and not that, then please tell me so I can make the necessary amendments. You can also email me, and ask me stuff on lotr. All emails sent to me are welcome, as long as it has something to do with lotr. Also please review my story! It only takes a few minutes of your time to make my day! Thank you.  
  
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The birth of Legolas.  
  
Thranduil, mighty king of Greenwood the Great, was strolling around happily in the corridor of his place. He was in a fine mood. Laeregil, the queen of Greenwood, had become pregnant – for the second time that year. Of course, this had raised a lot of chatter from the elves of Greenwood – questions about why their queen was pregnant so quickly. After all, this elf would be her sixth child. These conversations had of course made the queen, already ferocious be cause of her current condition, flare up numerous times.  
  
"How many times must I tell you not to mention this subject in front of your Lady Laeregil?" Thranduil asked his advisor wearily as the queen once again stalked out of the room in anger.  
  
Of course, all the insults were worth the new child Thranduil was getting. He had already prepared and decorated the child's room, much to Laeregil's extreme anger.  
  
"Lord, do not decorate our child's room yet! We are still uncertain if it is a boy or a girl!"  
  
This statement was decided on one find spring morning. After several unsuccessful attempts to get past the nurses who barricaded the doorway to Laeregil's room, ("My lord, even you are not allowed to be in this room. If you do not agree, ask the Lady Celebrian," said an unusually firm and seasoned nurse.) Thranduil gave up and flumped down on the chair beside Lord Elrond, the mighty Lord of Imladris, and all his other four children. Outside the room were Elladan and Elrohir, the sons of Elrond, as well as their sister, Arwen, and Celebrian, wife of Elrond. There also sat Celeborn and Amroth, current ruler of Lothlorien. Arianduil, Arialas, the other sons and daughters of Thranduil, were there as well. Galadriel, even though not on good terms with Thranduil, was helping Laeregil in her room, and both forest ruler and Eldarin lady had set aside their differences for that special occasion.  
  
At last, Galadriel stepped through the doorway, carrying a bundle of cloth. Thranduil and all his children stopped twiddling his thumbs and leapt up. "Patience, we do not wish to startle the elfling!" Galadriel cautioned. Thranduil breath was caught as he gazed at his newborn child. The elfling looked curiously at the king through his long black eyelashes, blinking his bright eyes at his father. The elf had the bright golden hair of his father, as well as the long limbs of his mother. His golden hair shone brightly against the white eiderdowns that he was wrapped in, and he looked like a cluster of Elanor in full bloom, surrounded by the snowy white Simbelmyne. How strange, Thranduil thought.  
  
"He's beautiful,"breathed Thranduil, his sapphire eyes misting over. "Because of the hour in which he as born, let him be named Legolas Greenleaf."  
  
The surrounding elves smiled as the young prince was named. Then, the other lords of Thranduil's court bustled off to prepare the celebration that was going to take place.  
  
Meanwhile, Thranduil went into Laeregil's room to see how she felt.  
  
"Lord, how is our new child? Let me look at him,"she said from the large bed in the room. She was a little wearied by her long birth of Legolas, yet it was well worth it when she saw her child.  
  
"My lady, our new child is beautiful. Look! See how he recognizes you, even while being in this world for such a short period of time! See how he reaches for your hand. I deem that he will become a great warrior, doing great things. He will be one who will protect our lands in times of need. But now, you are weary. Come, my lady! Talk can wait for later. For now, rest, my dearest Laeregil. Rest till She rises again to a new day."  
  
Did you like it? Did you hate it? Either way, please review! Constructive advice is welcome, and so is criticism, but please say why you do not like it before dismissing my story as trash.  
  
P.P.S.: for the earlier reviewers, my story has been changed and rewritten. To many complaints about the same thing! 


	2. The Problem with Thranduil

First of all, special thanks to all of those who reviewed my story. The criticism was very good, at least now I know what major mistakes I have made. To all the first six reviewers of my story, I'm sorry that you cant find your reviews in my file. Being an extremely stupid idiot, as well as a newbie in FF.net, I wanted to make some changes in my story, and deleted the whole thing just to change the P.S note. If you look back into the first chapter, you will notice a few changes. Please review the first chapter again and tell me what you think about it. Responses: (new)  
  
Starry: thanks for your offer! And I'm very glad you like my story! Question: do you know what are the elven kinslayer wars about? I think it's in the Silmarillion, but I did not read it. I just can't find the book... Also, do you want to be my beta reader?  
  
Gollum-girl: Thank you!  
  
Melissa(): Glad you like it! An elven pregnancy lasts for a mortal year, but an elven year lasts for 144 human years, so its perfectly fine for elves to get pregnant twice a year. Remember, this is written from an elven point of view.  
  
Insane elven pirate: ok! I hope this is soon enough for you!  
  
Mercury adept: OK... what mistakes? Your eyes must be really sharp... you can be my beta reader, if you want to!  
  
Vicki Turner: Thank you very much! Is this fast enough for you? I'm really busy, this is the fastest I could update!  
  
(Old) Sorry, I deleted the story to redo it, so now all your reviews are gone!  
  
Stardreamer9: thank you for enjoying it. What do you mean by 'sweet'? oh, and an elven year is 144 human years, so it is possible for them to have three children in a year since this is written form an elven point of view. But anyway, I changed it to two children, I hope that's better, and I made them have fewer children - from nine to five. And, what are the kinslayer wars? I have only heard of them among the humans. Is it in the Silmarillion? I can't find that book, so please explain the wars to me so I can have a better understanding. Forgive me for my ignorance, but it is not my fault if I cannot find that book. And no, the ps note was not to draw flame attacks, but as you can see, I have changed it so it is not so outright. It was so outright because right before I posted this story, I read an incredibly brutal and disgusting story on lotr, and I felt extremely pressed to tell people to stop writing those kinds of stories. Apologies for the "guardian of Tolkien" thing. I did not mean for it to sound this way. You know, you are very just in your judgment – so – can you be my beta reader? I think I am in badly in need of someone to tone down my extreme feelings!  
  
Neld: Erm...was that in the Silmarillion? Sorry, I did not read it. Errr... ok, so you were very right about that bit...  
  
Das Blume: my name was nice? Thanks! Yes, I certainly agree with you about Elrond and Thranduil. Though Elrond's lineage is far greater. I also changed the children bit. Now they only have five children. And one elven year is 144 human years since this is written from the elven point of view. Erm... Celeborn? Yeah, he renamed Mirkwood with Thranduil after Sauron is defeated, so... and Galadriel as a possessive "wanna rule maiden"? I'll have to think about that.  
  
Mistopurr: Really!? Thanks, I am already on a 'favourites' list, and this is only my first story! Yes! Don't worry about my feelings and the comments, but thanks for being so thoughtful! Yeah, you're right about the slash thing, you don't know how much criticism I received just for that! Sheesh...  
  
Ash49: Thanks; glad you were at least interested in my story. Ok, I modified the ps note so that it was not so outright, and –my age will remain a secret – you're right on the 'barbaric thing, so I erased it. And you didn't change my views on slash, but at least I'm not so irked out by it now. Yes, and about Ian Mckellen being gay, I know that. But it just seems wrong to make Tolkien's wonderful world so...slashy. Sorry about my feelings, I'm a very extreme person. Ok, I accept the "character torture" fact and I was wrong about that – as well as the spelling mistake, the fact with the children (I changed it) and me being a hypocrite. Ok... now, what are the kinslayer wars? Everyone is talking about them, and I don't even know what they are! I did not read the Silmarillion, so please tell me! I want to know! Sorry about the retarded smart ass slash note. You are a very good reviewer and would make a very good beta reader if you didn't hate me so much.  
  
Blue4dogs: I did not write a cannon fic, this is only my first story. An elven year is 144, human years, and it is written from an elven point of view, but anyway I changed it, so pls tell me if it's better or not! Yes, I agree with you on liking stories with good plots, though not slash ones. Thanks for the review, but what did you think of my story?  
  
Anyway, thanks to you all to reviewing, even the ones who flamed, at least they gave me a lot of constructive criticism! Continue reviewing! Extreme apologies to those who hated my story.  
  
"Come on, my little Legolas, this will make you big and strong like your father..." Thranduil's words were broken off with a gasp as, for the umpteenth time, his youngest son flung a spoonful of rice into his eyes. The children and wife of Thranduil roared with laughter. Take away the fact that Legolas was his youngest son, and you would have a powerful king humoring a child. Thranduil had been up since Legolas woke that morning along with the Sun, and had been feeding Legolas breakfast ever since...which was nearly two hour ago. His hair and splendid robes were streaked with bits of porridge. Legolas's tunic was speckled with yet more porridge, and had spent two whole hours shoving a porridge covered spoon away from his mouth. Thranduil was thoroughly determined to get Legolas to swallow some food. Legolas was just as determinedly keeping his little mouth pursed.  
  
"Ai! You goblin! Covering your father with your unwanted food... you, little one, are Nirestel – Hopeless – with a spoon and your food... nevertheless, you will not go hungry, my little Greenleaf – "  
  
"'Randuil! 'randuil! 'Restel!"  
  
"See how my child learns! He has learned my name, as well as his..."  
  
"Here, father, maybe I would have better luck...the winter has just begun, and I would not have my brother trapped in your halls in such good weather..." Caraniavas, the Crown Prince of Greenwood, took the spoon from his vehemently protesting father and proceeded to feed Legolas the porridge that was, by now, too cold to be fit for eating. Small wonder that Legolas immediately kicked his brother's hand and sent the bowl of porridge and the spoon flying.  
  
"Caran! Restel! Restel!"  
  
"Yes, yes. Now, Legolas, don't you want to eat this? We all know what happens when elflings eat their meals properly, don't we? They get to play in the snow with their big brothers!" Legolas's bright eyes widened as he looked at the new bowl of porridge in Caraniavas's hands, then at the forest outside his courts, which were covered by a blanket of snow.  
  
A few seconds later, Caranavias was left alone with an empty bowl of porridge as the rest of his family dashed outside to chase after Legolas. After hearing those magical words uttered by his eldest brother, Legolas had gulped down all his porridge, freed himself from his father's hold, and was now on his way into the formidable winters of the Wood, clad in nothing but his thin tunic.  
  
"Ai! Legolas! Legolas! Do you not hear me? Stay, Legolas!" but his son was deaf to his father's booming calls. The guards of the palace laughed to see their lord skidding about the ice in an unseemly manner, his robes ballooning out behind him. Thranduil, obviously forgetting that elves, especially Silvan elves, were not affected by the climate of their surroundings, chased his son to a clearing, where all the elflings of the forest were having a snowball fight.  
  
"Now, just you – "Thranduil blinked and flinched. It so happened that just as Thranduil had stood directly in front of Legolas, a snowball, meant for the youngest prince, had been thrown. Thranduil wiped a fair part of a particularly large snowball form his nose.  
  
"My lord! My apologies! I did not mean..." gasped the young culprit. Thranduil, however, was not concerned about himself. He opened his mouth to tell the elfling what he thought about people who aimed big and hard snowballs at a child who was no older that two years old.  
  
"Master elfling, what do you mean by throwing snowffff-"Legolas snickered in delight as his snowball sailed straight into Thranduil's wide opened mouth, causing his lord to choke and cough. Of course, in all that commotion, both Legolas and his opponent had disappeared form their King's sight.  
  
Legolas spent the whole day having the time of his life with his friends. Though they were all struggling with words and phrases, they managed to communicate and play without quarrelling or fighting.  
  
It was a few months later, during spring. Thranduil and his eldest son were having a conversation regarding Legolas. "First you are unable to get Legolas to eat – next you are unable to stop your child from running into the snow – now you let Legolas disappear form right under your nose... father, your child care taking skills are badly rusted." Caraniavas, eldest prince of Greenwood, was  
  
"Naturally. Itilrial and Laerial were before Legolas, and the ladies never gave me any trouble, unlike you lords..."  
  
"Look! There runs the little pad foot! Quick, he looks badly in need of medical care! He looks as if he has been chased by a wolf of the North – " Caraniavas burst into peals of laughter as his protective father dashed out into the forest to see what ill had befallen his son.  
  
Legolas, of course, was in no danger whatsoever. 'he looks like nobody's child,' Thranduil thought in amusement. In the morning, Legolas had been wearing a clean, light colored (albeit porridge flecked) tunic- whereas now, Legolas' tunic was a dark, sooty black color. His face and skin, once fair and bright, was now streaked with dirt and grime, and his golden hair would have to be washed thrice over to rid them of all their filth and snow. His nanny was chasing him around the courtyard with a hairbrush in her hands. Just when she was about to snag Legolas by the back of his ripped robes, he squirmed away from her long fingers and leapt onto the wall surrounding the courtyard. His nanny looked at her charge, then saw that her lord Thranduil was watching them intently with his turquoise eyes. Her eyes widened in surprise, then with worry, thinking that Thranduil would not like to see his child in such an untidy manner.  
  
"My lord! My apologies... I shall get the child cleaned up immediately..." she stammered.  
  
"You most certainly shall not! There will not be cleaning up of any sort!" stated Legolas, his voice holding a fair amount of authority. He had not noticed his father.  
  
"That, I believe, is for me to decide," Thranduil boomed, in voice that would have intimidated all but his youngest. Legolas' golden head whipped around, and saw his father standing there, his face an expression of sternness.  
  
"Father! I knew not that you were there!" He cried, leaping feline-like to Thranduil. The next moment, Thranduil was struggling with a bundle of clothes and limbs.  
  
"Ai, my son, what will I do with you?" he asked in mock sadness, shaking his head despairingly as he took in the level of dirt and filth Legolas was encased in. "you were rolling on the ground again, were you not?" Legolas grinned and lifted his head, as if proud of his antics.  
  
"Nothing!" he piped. With a witty smile, Thranduil bent close to Greenleaf and hissed.  
  
"I think not, my son. Bathtime!" with that one word, Legolas was flung from a world of happiness to a world of horror and anger. His slender arms and legs started to flail out in all directions as his mouth opened into bellows and shrieks that were nearly on par with an army of singing dwarves. Thranduil, however, merely slung Legolas like a bag of potatoes over his shoulder by an ankle and walked into the bathing house, with Legolas' tiny fists hammering away at his father's back. But Legolas was not one to give up easily. Several kicks and a few loud groans later, Thranduil emerged from the bathroom empty handed, grimly messaging a bruised face. Legolas had evaded bathing – again.  
  
No matter how hard Thranduil tried, he was the only person his family who couldn't get Legolas to take a shower. As Thranduil trudged down the corridors of his palace, he couldn't help wondering : what is the problem with me?  
  
sorry for such a lame chapter. It was meant to be funny, but somehow I am just not a funny person. Please review! It only takes a few minutes of your time to make my day. 


	3. Mud, nets, rude guards and ferocious elv...

Responses :  
  
Mercuryeadept: ok! Thanks for being my beta reader.  
  
Dragon Confused : yes, the reference for the Elven unit of the year was at the back of my Lord of the rings book, under the appendices D. I don't know what page it is, since we probably have a different version of the book. Thanks for explaining the kinslaying thing, but was Galadriel a kinslayer? I mean, who did she kill? Can't imagine her killing elves, she seems so gentle, somehow. Ok, I will correct their names.  
  
Blue4dogs: hi! Yes! You're the only one who re-reviewed! Thank you for coming back! Ok, I will try to change the spelling mistakes.  
  
Adsh: whoa! Cool idea! Yes, I think I will do it... when Legolas has grown up, of course.  
  
~~~~~~~ 4-year-old Legolas, youngest and 5th prince of Greenwood the Great, awoke to the pain of somebody rapping his head.  
"Awake, Greenleaf! The guards have fallen asleep on some of the most potent wine we have managed to get our hands on..." hissed Arianduil, the 4th child of mighty king Thranduil. Arialas, Arianduil's younger twin, ripped apart the velvet maroon curtains to let the sunlight stream into Legolas' room.  
  
"Come on! Race you to our secret hideout!" Arianduil whispered. With that, he took off out of his youngest brother's room and sped down the corridor to the open forest, with Arialas hot on his heels. Legolas hurriedly threw on a light tunic, then darted after his brothers. He charged pass his father's chamber, making as little noise as possible for fear he would awake the king, then tip-toed pass the sleeping (and dreaming and smiling and snoring) guards. Sure enough, Arianduil had fed them one of the most potent wines, wine from the vineyards of Dorwinion. He raced down the corridors of the cave, and kept on running, and running, and running, until he suddenly stopped short at the door of the palace – where the stone stopped and the forest began. For instead of the hard, solid ground of the soil of the forest, there was a sea of weird, brownish stuff in front of him.  
  
He squatted down and peered intently at it, for he had never seen it before. Then, he reached out stuck a little finger into the brown stuff. "Eeewww......yuck......" for the brown stuff, as you would probably know, was mud. Sticky, yucky, gooey, brown mud. When had he seen this before? It had been raining heavily recently... oh! He had seen it under the roots of trees. But he couldn't remember what it was called.  
  
A dark shadow loomed over Legolas, and three pairs of ankles, dirty and muddy, appeared on front of his little form. Looking up, he recognized his father, a fuming Arianduil and a red-faced Arialas.  
  
"Father! What are you doing here?" Legolas asked in surprise. He did not know that his father was awake, and he thought that he and his brothers' plans to go orc-hunting under the pretense oh hunting animals had been discovered.  
  
"The question is, Legolas, what are my three sons doing out of their beds at this time of the morning? Were you not told that a band of orcs were roaming in my realm?" Thranduil asked smoothly, with a hint of lie-to-me- and-you're-dead tone in his voice. Legolas, who recognized that tone immediately, gulped, and nearly gave the three away out of fear.  
  
"Y-yes, we knew there were orcs in Greenwood, so we – the three of us, w-we decided to hunt the orcs down..."  
  
"And what of my guards?"  
  
"Arianduil gave them a drought of wine from Dorwinion, you know, the one that you always drink, and they well... you know what happened – oops, I wasn't supposed to say anything, was I?" he added, seeing that the older twins were glaring at him with fire in their eyes.  
  
"Don't listen to him, he is saying all this under the influence of wine – the mildest ones – you know how he refuses to listen to what we say, he went ahead and drank everything up – we were only out here because Legolas was fascinated by the mud." Yes, it was a lame excuse, but what else could they say? The only person who could probably worm himself out of this mess was their spoilt little brother-and even his chances of escaping looked dim.  
  
"Lord Thranduil, I overheard these three pranksters planning to go on an orc-hunting trip-as the youngest prince revealed. They were going to drug my guards with the wine of Dorwinion, one of the most potent drinks. I alone managed to stop myself from over indulging in it. There was nothing in the plan whatsoever which concerned mud." The speaker was Serilorn, one of the chief of the guards.  
  
Arianduil and Arialas were seething with rage-the chief was the most righteous, strict, lawful elves they had ever met, and always told their father about all the midnight escapades the twins had ever gone on, ensuring that hardly any of their plans ever succeeded. To think that he had managed to keep from falling asleep!  
  
"Alright. Back to your beds-the three of you-and you will not be allowed outside the palace gates for three days," Thranduil ordered.  
  
"Three days!" Arianduil howled in anger. Legolas turned on his 'makeshift' tap, making his bright eyes teary and glistening. Not even his father could hold out against his earnest expression for long. Serilorn was the one who had sense-he immediately distracted Thranduil with the false case of having heard that the Lake-men of Esgarouth were under attack by goblins, rendering Legolas' trick useless.  
  
As the trio walked away, Arianduil clenched his fist and the sharp ears of Arialas and Legolas caught the word 'revenge'. Arialas' agile mind started running over possibilities to get Serilorn sacked. Then, he called his brothers together and whispered some secret plan into their ears. "Yes!" Legolas hissed, exalted. This plan was foolproof!  
  
* * *  
  
Legolas tramped down the stone corridor of his home and went into the courtyard of the palace.  
  
"Hello, Serilorn," he said in a forlorn voice. The guard looked at him briefly, wondering what had caused the usually robust Legolas to be so quiet, then dismissed the thought as one who was looking for attention. Legolas kicked at the mud, splashing a small amount at Serilorn's feet.  
  
Suddenly, he grabbed a pot that he had hid behind his tunic and, in one swift motion, filled it with mud and tossed it onto Serilorn. The guard sputtered, wiping the goo from his eyes.  
  
"You! How there you! Your father will hear this! And I assure you, this time he will not be taken in by your tears! I-"a second load of mud crashed down on top of him. Gasping with rage and anger, Serilorn looked up to the branches of the mighty beech beside him. Arianduil stood there, a much larger bucket of mud in his hands, grinning wickedly.  
  
"Get down at once! And that is an order! I will take you to your father and if he is merciful, you will escape with your lives!"  
  
"oh, really? I don't think so!" He pulled hard at the long cord of rope tat dangled beside him. Serilorn stared on surprise... the rope not been there the day before... and all of a sudden, he felt a net closing around him and he was pulled into the air with a sharp yank, and he felt a strange sensation, and the next thing he knew, he had banged his head hard against the bough of the tree.  
  
"Oops! My apologies, my aiming skills aren't too good, you know..." Arianduil said smoothly, without any hint of regret in his voice whatsoever. He tied the rope to a branch so that the net would not loosen.  
  
"Hey, Arianduil! Why did you use that net! I made it one week ago, you know it is not strong enough to take Serilorn's weight! You should have used the one I made yesterday!" Arialas yelled from below.  
  
"Get me down off this net at once!" Serilorn shrieked, all pride and dignity forgotten in this state. His dark hair was tangled in the cords of the net, and he was twisted around in a very awkward position. And now the princes were laughing at him, and even suggesting that his weight was too much for the ropes! How infuriating!  
  
Half the elves in the palace of Greenwood dashed out when they heard his scream. The personalities of the princes switched immediately. Arianduil worked fervently cut away the rope with a purposely-blunt knife, portraying the image of a kind, good elf who wanted to help his friend. Arialas made a show of climbing up the tree and going out to the branch that was closest to Serilorn and started shouting encouragements to the livid guard.  
  
"Hang in there, Serilorn! Stop struggling! We will get oyu down in no time!"  
  
"What's all this racket!" boomed a voice that was guaranteed to intimidate anybody. It belonged to Thranduil.  
  
"Lord, your sons tricked me into this! First Legolas through mud at me, then Arianduil pulled a net up around me, trapping me in this net! I demand that you punish them immediately!"  
  
"Is this how you would repay us?" Arianduil stepped away from the net, his face twisted in to one of shock. "Is this how you would repay us, who have helped you with your job all this while? We, who even try to get you down even after what you put us through this morning?"  
  
"Liar!" Serilorn hissed, clenching his fists.  
  
"He's the liar!" Legolas wailed, his make shift tap quickly being turned on, and tears streamed down his face. "We helped him to make a net so that it will be easier to catch ones who would intrude into the palace, and he accidentally got caught in the net as we were putting up the net!" Serilorn's face was now so red, it contrasted deeply with the brown net.  
  
"Believe us! Look, we even helped him to make a net, in case his failed!" Legolas dragged up Arialas' net, and showed it to the Elvenking. Thranduil inspected it closely. Sure enough, he saw the untidy workmanship of the twins embroidered on the net. Come to think of it, he had seen them making a net a few days before. And looking at the other net that was carrying Serilorn, he saw the skillfully wrought net. It was entirely possible that Serilorn had made it himself.  
Of course, Thranduil was never to know that the skillfully wrought net had been purchased by his sons.  
  
"fool!" Serilorn cursed, and Legolas ran to his father and started bawling all out, while Arianduil and Arialas bit their lips to prevent them form bursting into laughter.  
  
"He's the fool! The most ungrateful, stupid, dumb, crazy fool ever!" Arianduil yelled, feeling that Legolas needed someone to back up in his story, and not wanting to miss out on all the fun anyway. Thranduil hugged his youngest child. He felt that something was wrong with what he was about to say, but he couldn't help himself from pleasing his youngest everytime Legolas cried.  
  
"Shh...don't cry, Greenleaf! Look, I'll...I'll let you do whatever you want to do to Serilorn anyway, alright?" he whispered.  
  
"Really?" Legolas' turned his tear stained face to his father. At that moment, Laeregil appeared to see what the commotion was all about. Serilorn gulped, and his complexion paled visibly. Everyone knows that women are funny creatures with weird mood swings and unreasonably hot tempers. His fate was bound to be a horrid one, especially because Laeregil was extremely protective over Legolas.  
  
"Elbereth Gilthoniel..." Serilorn sighed as he prayed for courage to be able to get through his fate alive. When he looked down, Legolas was pouring out all his so called miseries to his mother.  
  
God help the poor elf who gets the wrath of the elven queen Laeregil.  
  
Sorry, girls! Apologies for the temper thing. But I just had to put it in. 


	4. the Darkness Begins

Responses to reviewers :  
  
Amanda : Thank you very much for reading my story!  
  
Gollum Girl: ...oh...ok. Did you like it though?  
  
Thranduil paced restlessly about in his room, worrying about his beloved country. The Forest of Greenwood had fallen into a shadow... just a minor threat, to be sure, but Thranduil knew that the shadow would get worse. Day by day, the feeling of evil on the forest grew stronger. Thranduil knew that the evil had infested the Southern part of Greenwood, but apart form that, he did not know what darkness had befallen his country. Even his smallest son, Legolas, young as he was, knew that there was something unnatural in the forest.  
  
Thranduil placed his head in his hands and sighed. The Greenwood wood never be the same again. The evil may be driven out in time, but it would leave behind traces of destruction and grief. Thranduil knew – he had been around when Sauron, the dark lord, had laid many countries to waste. Even now, those countries, though rebuilt and repaired, could not hide dry, barren wastelands, where no living creature, plant or animal, could survive in.  
  
The clouds parted, the Sun shone through into Thranduil's chamber. For a moment Thranduil's spirit lifted as rays of sunlight shone through the window, yet soon the sun was covered again. Thranduil grieved mostly for his youngest son, Legolas, because he knew that no child of the Great Forest should grow up in a time where their world was dark and shadowed. Legolas, a child of a mere seven years, would live the next few centuries, or even millennia, not seeing the forest of Greenwood in all its splendor. It pierced Thranduil's heart to know think that Legolas had to live with these times.  
  
But even as Thranduil thought of his children, he chided himself for being so selfish. His sister had given birth only a few months ago, and the infant would never see the Forest of Greenwood in all its majesty ere it was spoiled by evil. Thranduil himself had already sent out a group of Elves to see if they could find out the source of this evil, and to see if they could banish it.  
  
"Father? What are you thinking of?" Legolas opened the door to his father's chamber and walked in.  
  
"Oh, Legolas...I'm thinking of what ...what we will do when the autumn festival comes...Thranduil trailed off uneasily. Legolas already knew that there was an evil in his beloved home, and there was no point in hiding it.  
  
"Do you know what haunts our forest, father?" Legolas asked, looking out of the window.  
  
"Nothing haunts our forest," Thranduil said automatically. He did not want his son to worry unnecessarily. Legolas looked at his father sadly.  
  
"You know there is something. Tell me! I can take it, and maybe I can help to share the burden with you!" Legolas cried. "We must banish this evil!" Thranduil looked at his child fondly. To think that an elfling at so young a age could be so mature and grown up, the proud father of Legolas sighed.  
  
"No, Legolas...yes, there is an evil in our forest, but I do not know what that is. I have already sent Serilorn and his men to check on this new evil. Do not worry, I do not think this evil will come directly to our home."  
  
"Oh. In this case, can I go riding with mother?" Legolas asked. "we will stay within range of the palace, I promise, and anyway you said that we were safe." Thranduil thought for a while, hesitating. He did not think that riding within range of the palace was very dangerous, yet legolas tended to forget all he had promise when left alone in the forests. He did not want legolas to get lost, especially with this new darkness in the forest, but then, the Queen was going too...  
  
"All right, you may go with mother. Just say where the guards can see you, and don't get separated from mother!" watching Legolas skip happily out of the door, Thranduil sighed for the second time in a few minutes. If he was so sure that nothing was going to happen, why did he have a strange sense of foreboding?  
  
Thranduil sighed and left his room, going out to the corridor.  
  
"My lord Thranduil!" somebody shouted. "Thranduil!" the king of Mirkwood turned around and saw an elf running towards him. His clothes were dirty and torn, twigs and leaves were in his long, dark colored hair, and his voice bore obvious traces of urgency. It was Serilorn, the captain of the group of elves that Thranduil had sent out earlier this morning. "My men and I were chased by something...something that we had never seen before in this forest! It was about as tall as us...with a big, bloated sort of body with many legs. Our arrows did little harm to it, only serving to enrage the monster. My men and I separated into two groups. The monster chased my group, but the other team pursued the monster with their spears and swords. They manage to confuse the monster, allowing us to escape. However...however...some of us were injured. I ...I ... I think they were stung, but I cant tell for sure, for they seemed to be dead. We took the injured ones to the healers, but...I'm not sure of they can do anything. Never before have I seen a poison so deadly that it can have this...this effect on an elf."  
  
Thranduil's heart started beating hard in alarm.  
"You mean this creature just appeared in front of you?" he queried anxiously. Elves were well known for their heightened senses, it was unlikely that a creature could just sneak up like that.  
  
"I'm not so sure. We heard a clicking sort of noise behind us, but whatever it was, we could not see it. It vanished into the darkness, and we dismissed it as unimportant. We continued on, and that's when the rear guard suddenly fell with a cry. He had a wound at the back of his neck; we think that's where he got poisoned. We spun around, armed and ready, but few of us managed to see it's true form before it ran over us and knocked us over. It looked like some sort of enormous spider, but..." Serilorn bit his lip and looked down, worried. "Seven of my men were injured, my lord. I say this – all of our people are in grave danger. To send out anyone in this time, with this monster loose, spells death for all who cross its path. Keep your people safe until we can recognize the demon for what it is. Or at least until we get a cure for its poison. Arrows did not stop it, only our spears and swords held I at bay." Thranduil dismissed his guard absently, faint bells of danger ringing in his ears.  
'...all of our people are in grave danger. To send out anyone in this time, with this monster loose, spells death for all who cross its path....'.  
  
Spinning around, Thranduil charged down the corridors and into the courtyard.  
  
"Laergil! LAERGIL!" he called desperately. "LEGOLAS! ANSWER ME!" he cried, louder this time. There was no answer. Thranduil had sent his son and wife to their death.

So? Did you like it? Please review!!! Look out for what happens to Legolas in the next chapter!!! Oh, yeah!!! I need a beta reader!! I'm in desperate need for a beta reader!!! Help, please!!!


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